1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication device for an elevator control system, and particularly to a communication device for an elevator control system, which performs data communication in a data communication network of the elevator control system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a known communication device for an elevator control system, an example disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-182023 will be described below with reference to FIG. 19. As shown in FIG. 19, the known elevator control system includes respective cabin controllers 103A to 103N for respectively controlling the operation of a plurality of car cabins, a group management controller 104 for collectively controlling the operation of the plurality of car cabins, landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k which respectively control input/output of car cabin position indicators (not shown) for displaying floors where the car cabin of the elevator is presently running, hall buttons (not shown) for calling the elevator installed at the respective halls, and the like, and which respectively have intrinsic numbers (identity numbers), a communication relay (communication device) 102 for relaying communication among the plurality of respective cabin controllers 103A to 103N, the group management controller 104, and the plurality of landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k, and a network 101 as a communication line for realizing transmission and reception of information among the plurality of respective cabin controllers 103A to 103N, the group management controller 104, the plurality of landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k, and the communication relay 102.
The communication relay 102 used as a communication device for the known elevator control system is constructed by a plurality of slave communication portions 108A to 108N which are connected to hall transmission lines 110A to 110N as common transmission lines provided for every hall button series divided according to the installation number of the landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, 106a to 106k and realizes communication with the landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k and 106a to 106k, a master communication portion 107 for transmitting and receiving information to/from the plurality of respective cabin controllers 103A to 103N, and an internal network 109 for connecting the master communication portion 107 and the plurality of slave communication portions 108A to 108N.
Hereinafter, the operation of the communication device for the known elevator control system constructed in this way will be described. First, the master communication portion 107 receives information to be transmitted from the respective cabin controllers 103A to 103N and the group management controller 104 through the network 101 to the side of the landing floor terminals (hall controllers), classifies the transmitted information by the floor and the hall transmission line, and outputs them through the internal network 109 to the slave communication portions 108A to 108N. On the other hand, information received from the slave communication portions 108A to 108N through the internal network 109 is classified by the master communication portion 107 by the floor and the hall transmission line, and then, it is transmitted to the respective cabin controllers 103A to 103N and the group management controller 104.
Next, the slave communication portions 108A to 108N transmit data, which are received from the master communication portion 107 through the internal network 109, to the hall transmission lines 110A to 110N to which they are respectively connected. On the other hand, the slave communication portions 108A to 108N transmit information, which is received from the landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k through the hall transmission lines 110A to 110N, to the master communication portion 107 through the internal network 109.
The communication relay 102 receives input information from the landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k through the hall transmission lines 110A to 110N, adds information to enable identification of the hall transmission line to which the landing floor terminal (hall controller) as a sender of the received information belongs, and the floor on which the landing floor terminal (hall controller) is installed, and transmits it through the network 101. Hereinafter, this operation will be described in detail.
The plurality of landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k have respectively intrinsic numbers on the floors. According to a first method, an address map is set in an internal memory of the master communication portion 107, and data indicating which of the hall transmission lines 110A to 110N is controlled by the respective slave communication portions 108A to 108N, are previously stored in the respective addresses of the address map. At this time, a format of the data stored in one of the respective addresses is constituted by an intrinsic number of one of the landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k corresponding to the respective floors, and an intrinsic number corresponding to one of the respective hall transmission lines 110A to 110N.
In such a state, when the landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k output arbitrary information, together with their own intrinsic numbers, to the hall transmission lines 110A to 110N, the respective slave communication portions 108A to 108N transmit the information through the internal network 109 to the master communication portion 107. The master communication portion 107 compares the intrinsic number included in the inputted information with the data of the address map stored in it, and can judge that the inputted information is from which hall controller of which hall transmission line, and therefore, it is possible to add these pieces of information to the received data and transmit them to the network 101.
Next, according to a second method, data of an address map set in the master communication portion 107 are outputted to the plurality of slave communication portions 108A to 108N. When each of the slave communication portions 108A to 108N receives arbitrary information, together with an intrinsic number, transmitted from the landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k through the hall transmission lines 110A to 110N, it compares the intrinsic number contained in the received data with the data of the address map, adds an intrinsic number of the hall transmission line which is controlled by the slave communication portion itself, and transmits them to the master communication portion 107. In this case, by directly transmitting the data received from the slave communication portions 108A to 108N to the network 101, the master communication portion 107 can transmit the data containing the information of the transmission lines and the floors to which the landing floor terminals (hall controllers) 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k belong, and the information of the floor.
Although the known communication device is constructed as described above, the foregoing method for identifying the hall transmission line and floor to which the landing floor terminal (hall controller) belongs, which is realized by such a known communication device, has problems as follows:
That is, first, in the elevator control system, the hall button connected to each of the hall controllers 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k is made to have an attribute indicating what kind of button (for example, a general elevator calling button, an elevator calling button for physically handicapped persons, an elevator calling button for honored guests), and an operating method of an elevator is changed using the kinds of the respective hall buttons as input information. However, in the system shown in the prior art, it is possible to merely judge that the input is from a hall controller belonging to which hall transmission line and installed on which floor. Thus, there is a restriction that the hall controllers connected to one hall transmission line are treated as having the same kind of attribute at the stage of output from the communication relay 102 to the network. That is, it is impossible to mix hall controllers with different kinds of attributes in one hall transmission line. In the case where the hall controllers with different kinds of attributes are mixed in the system, it is necessary to provide hall transmission lines, the number of which is not less than the number of kinds of the attributes, and the cost is increased. Since information indicating that it belongs to which hall transmission line, and information of the installed floor can be sent to the network, it is also possible that the side receiving and using the information makes the attribute correspond to the button. However, normally, since the group management controller 104 for using information of the hall controllers 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k requires input from all the hall controllers 105a to 105k, and 106a to 106k, the correspondence processing of the attributes of button signals is concentrated on the group management controller 104 as a control device at the reception side. Thus, the system is lack in expandability to the increase of the number of hall transmission lines existing in the system.
In order to make expansion of mixing hall controllers with different kinds of attributes in one hall transmission line, if a management table is made to have entries to make every hall controller correspond to the attribute, there also arises a problem that the capacity of the management table becomes enormous, and it is not realistic.
Second, it is necessary that the address map set in the master communication portion 107 of the communication relay 102 is previously stored, and there is a restriction that means for changing the address map under operation of the system does not exist. In the known elevator system as described above, since the communication device has only the previously stored address map, it is difficult to realize such flexible service that the attribute made to be correspondent to the hall controller is changed in accordance with a time zone or flow of people so as to change an operating method of an elevator.
The present invention has been made to solve such problems and has an object to provide a communication device for an elevator control system, in which an operation of the communication device is controlled by a management table and flexible system construction is made possible.
Another object of the invention is to provide a communication device for an elevator control system, which enables hall controllers with a plurality of attributes to be mixed in one hall transmission line and can decrease the number of provided hall transmission lines.
With the above objects in view, each of the communication devices for an elevator control system of the present invention includes at least one interface of a hall transmission line interface for connection with the hall transmission line, an each cabin controller interface for connection with the each cabin controller, a group management controller interface for connection with the group management controller, and a transmission line expansion interface for connection with an expansion transmission line other than the hall transmission line, and the interface is controlled by the CPU. The operation of the communication device can be controlled by the management table, and flexible system construction can be made possible.
Also, when each of the data communication devices transmits data inputted from the hall transmission line interface, the each cabin controller interface, the group management controller interface, or the transmission line expansion interface to the network interface, the communication device may obtain the data content code corresponding to the contents of the inputted data from the data content code table, and transmits frames prepared by adding the data content code to the inputted data to the network. The communication device may receive the frame only when among the frames transmitted to the network, the data content code added to the frame is contained in the set of the received data content codes defined by the received data content code table. The output interface definition table may be searched from the data content code of the frame received from the network to obtain an output destination interface of the frame and data processing contents, and the data are outputted to the interface obtained in accordance with the obtained data processing contents. The communication can be easily made among the communication devices through the single network, and the operation of the communication device can be changed through the network, so that flexible system construction is made possible.
The hall transmission lines connected to the communication devices may have hall transmission line numbers given without overlap in the system. The hall controllers may have hall controller numbers given without overlap among the hall controllers connected to the same hall transmission line. Each of the communication devices may have a hall button series conversion table provided in the management table storage portion for managing correspondence of the respective hall controllers identified by the hall transmission line number and the hall controller number to a logical number of the hall controller constituted by a logical series number and a floor number. The communication device may convert a sender of information from the hall controller inputted from the hall transmission line interface by the hall button series conversion table and outputs to the network interface. In the case where the frame inputted from the network interface is data to be outputted to the hall transmission line, the communication device may convert the logical number of the hall controller as a destination of the data to be outputted to the hall transmission line into a hall transmission line number and a hall controller number by the hall button series conversion table, and outputs to the hall transmission line corresponding to the numbers. In the processing of converting the information of a sender into the logical series number and floor number performed by the communication device when data having, as the sender, the hall controller specified by a pair of the hall transmission line number and the hall controller number may be are transmitted to the network, it is possible to connect the hall controllers having the plurality of logical series numbers to one hall transmission line, and the cost of providing the hall transmission line can be reduced.
Further, the hall button series conversion table may include, for each of the hall transmission lines, at least one pair of a set of arbitrary continuous numbers of the hall controllers connected to the hall transmission line, a floor number made to correspond to the hall controller of the minimum number among the set of the hall controller numbers, and logical series numbers made to correspond to the hall button controllers of numbers belonging to a scope of the hall controller numbers. A sum of sets of hall controllers corresponding to numbers contained in the set of the hall controller numbers of each pair may contain all hall controller numbers connected to the hall transmission line, and in those sets, the pair is constructed so that overlapping hall controller numbers do not exist between arbitrary two sets. In the processing of converting the information of a sender into a logical series number and a floor number performed by the communication device 2 when data having, as the sender, the hall controller specified by a pair of the hall transmission line number and the hall controller number may be transmitted to the network 1, the structure of the hall button series conversion table is contracted, so that the capacity of the management table storage portion required by the communication device 2 can be kept low.
Alternatively, the communication device may include means for rewriting at least one of the physical structure management table, the data content code table, the received data content definition table, the output interface definition table, and the hall button series conversion table, which are included in another communication device, through the network. Change of the management table may become possible without stopping the system, so that it is especially effective in the case where flexible service according to a time zone is provided, or in the case of dealing with a request to change the kind of service due to the reform of a building or the like.